What are the Best Free Robo Advisors?

The Best Free Robo Advisors in 2018

Welcome to our review of the best free Robo Advisors in 2018. If you are new to Robo Advisors and would like to know more about online automated investing tools, you should check out our definitive guide to Robo Advisors.

Not all investors have a high net worth, and that’s what makes Robo Advisors special. These online tools are ideal for small investors and the average Joe. But you need to choose the best free Robo Advisor that is suited to your financial needs. That’s what we’re here for.

Not all Robo Advisors are the same, and they each offer a bewildering array of unique and interesting features to entice investors both big and small. Offering a free advisory service is one of them, and we will dedicate this page to dissecting the facts so we can present to you the best no fee Robo Advisors that you can try today.

We will classify the best free services in two categories: automated (hands-off) and non-automated (advisory). The reason for this is simple – some people prefer a hands-on approach to investing while still receiving the same algorithmic analysis of their finances, while others prefer the service to do all the work for them.

Best Free Non-Automated Robo Advisors

Personal Capital

We’re very impressed with Personal Capital’s free service. We think they are one of the best no-fee Robo Advisors that offer free retirement planning, budgeting and a 401(k) analyser. The service also syncs all your mortgage and investment accounts even without the paid service.

We admit that their paid service is best suited for high value investors, but the brilliant free service is too hard to ignore. The service is also accessible via a free mobile app for your smartphone or tablet, so you can view, monitor and make changes to your portfolio when you’re on the go.

If you happen to be a hands-on type of investor, this app will do wonders for you. The interface is easy to understand, and first time users will find it easy to keep track of their investments without using a computer.

One of the best features of the service is the Personal Capital dashboard. It gives you the ability to view your financial accounts, portfolio balances, allocations, net worth and cash flow from one central dashboard, and all for free.

FutureAdvisor

FutureAdvisor also offers one of the best free services for DIY investors. If you are the type of investor who wants more control or involvement in managing your portfolio, then you should give them a try. The service will not manage your portfolio for free, but it can give you personalized recommendations on all of your investment accounts.

The service also offers retirement planning and free college savings along with 401(k) management. FutureAdvisor will help you determine how much you should save for your kid’s college education, and it will also suggest the best accounts according to your financial goals. The service will then monitor and rebalance your investments as your kid grows older, and it will also pay attention to market fluctuations and make the necessary adjustments.

In our FutureAdvisor Review, we praised this no fee Robo Advisor for its outstanding flexibility. The service can link all your current brokerage accounts, and the service even comes with a free tool that allows you to accept or reject certain recommendations in your portfolio. There is no tax loss harvesting for free accounts, but it is available if you choose the FutureAdvisor Premium Service.

Best Free Automated Robo Advisors

Wealthsimple

Wealthsimple was already one of the biggest and most established Robo Advisors in Canada prior to their entrance into the USA. Wealthsimple has no minimum deposit or account minimum and will manage the first $10,000 for free (using our link.) Wealthsimple offers two basic types of accounts depending on your account balance:

Wealthsimple Basic (0.5% fee) may sound like a penalty box but it comes with free automatic rebalancing, dividend reinvestment, and automated deposits. Account balances over $100,000 will activate Wealthsimple Black, which comes with lower management fees (0.4%) and many premium features.

Wealthsimple is also a socially-responsible Robo Advisor that will give you the ability to invest in values-based companies. This is a fully-automated Robo Advisor that is perfect for hands-off investors with large taxable accounts. Give Wealthsimple a try using our link so you can start investing your $10,000 for free.

Schwab Intelligent Portfolios

Do you have little experience as an investor? Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is worth a shot. Besides the fact that Schwab offers a brilliant fully automated service, the service does not impose any management fees and transaction costs, ever. You read that right. No fees, no charges.

What’s the catch? They generally allocate a large percentage of your money in cash. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it might hold back your investment growth potential. You should also pay close attention to the fees on your ETFs, as the service will charge operating expenses based on the ETFs in your portfolio.

Schwab only offers tax loss harvesting for accounts worth more than $50,000 but it does offer excellent asset allocation strategies and automatic rebalancing. Best of all, they will give you the option to contact a human financial advisor round-the-clock. If you have any questions about your investment portfolio, you can call a human advisor free of charge, which is pretty impressive for a free Robo Advisor.

Conclusion

Those are the best free Robo Advisors on the market in 2018. Read our comprehensive Robo Advisor reviews if you want to learn more about the differences and comprehensive analysis of the best Robo Advisors online.

Finally, if you want more features and functionality than what free Robo Advisors have to offer – but aren’t ready to plunk down for the higher fees quite yet – then you better check out our guide to the Robo Advisors with the Lowest Fees.